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Unit 23 P5 M1
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Essay of 3 pages for the course Unit 23 - Aspects of the Legal System and Law-making Process at PEARSON (Unit 23 P5 M1)
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IntroductionIn this task I am required to outline the role of judges and lawyers in civil and criminal cases.
I must also compare and contrast the role and function of judges, lawyers and lay people
within the English courts.
Judges
Within the British legal system, judges play a senior role. They are given the role of deciding
cases in most situations. They also have the role of interpreting the law and assessing the
evidence that has been provided to them. The judge decides whether the evidence that has
been provided is credible and which witnesses are actually telling the truth.
The judge is the one who passes a sentence or imposes a penalty that can range from a fine to
a prison term depending on the severity of the offence when a defendant is convicted of a
crime. However, in a civil case the judge decides whether a claim is valid. The judge assesses
the damages and grants injunctions or some other form of compensation for the plaintiff.
Almost all civil cases and many criminal cases are heard by a judge without a jury. Within
civil cases the judge applies the law to determine whether the facts given in a civil claim have
been established on a balance of probabilities or whether there is proof beyond reasonable
doubt. In criminal cases the judge uses these facts to decide whether the defendant is guilty or
not guilty.
Solicitors
Solicitors are a first point of contact when someone requires legal advice. They deal with all
kinds of different legal issues. Many solicitors are in private practice and work within firms
of a number of staff. Some may even be sole practitioners that work in small high street
offices. Most solicitors work in private practice and work with individual clients such as the
general public and local businesses.
The role of a solicitor is mainly to deal with a wide range of legal problems such as helping
clients to buy and sell property, personal injury claims, advising on matrimonial problems
such as divorce, or financial disputes between partners and immigration problems. Solicitors
also represent people in court or instruct a barrister to represent them.
Within civil matters, solicitors represent their client’s at most pre-trial hearings. Solicitors
also appear in courts in enforcement proceedings such as repossession cases. In criminal
cases, solicitors often represent their client in the magistrates’ court. It is a typical function of
a duty solicitor to do this. The duty solicitor is usually the one who makes a defendants first
bail application.
Barristers
A barrister is a type of lawyer that is called to the bar to practice as a supporter of the
defendant. They usually operate within the higher courts. They are legal advisors that are
independent and trained to advise clients on the strengths and weaknesses of their case. They
have sufficient knowledge and experience of the courts which can make a significant
difference in the outcome of a case.
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